Latin American Studies

Paula Marcela Moreno Zapata was the minister of culture of Colombia from 2007 to 2010, the youngest person and the first Afro-Colombian to hold a cabinet-level ministry in modern Colombia. She is currently the president of Visible Hands Foundation, advisor of international agencies and foundations such as ACDI/VOCA, the Open Society Foundation, and UNESCO, and a recipient of the Unita Blackwell Award 2009 given by the Women's Committee of the National Conference of Black Mayors of the United States for her contribution to the cultural development of Afro-Colombian communities.

In her lecture she will discuss the ways in which state policies in Colombia have mobilized expressive culture to promote social inclusion, democratic participation, economic development, the creation of political constituencies, and as part of the response to Colombia's longstanding political violence.

Open to the public free of charge. Sponsored by the Charles F. Adams Lectureship Fund. Presented by the Latin American Studies and Africana Studies programs in partnership with the Joseph McKeen Center for the Common Good and the Department of Music's Music and the Common Good: Composing Community Series.

For more information, please contact the Events Office at 207-725-3433 or ehricko@bowdoin.edu

PUBLIC FILM SCREENING WITH AUTHOR DANY LAFERRIÈRE

The Gentle Drifting of a Haitian Child

La dérive douce d’un enfant de Petit-Goâve
a film by / un film de Pedro Ruiz (2009)

(in French with English subtitles)

The Gentle Drifting of a Haitian Child chronicles the life of renowned author Dany Laferrière, who fled the Duvalier regime in Haiti at the age of 23 and went on to establish himself in Montréal as a novelist of international acclaim, following the publication of his first novel, Comment faire l’amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer / How to Make Love to a Negro, in 1985. He has been a prolific writer ever since, having emerged as a preeminent literary voice in the Francophone world.


Wednesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Kresge Auditorium
reception to follow

Mr. Laferrière will welcome questions from the audience after the film.

Sponsored by the Blythe Bickel Edwards Fund; the Departments of Romance Languages and Film Studies; the Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, and Gender and Women's Studies Programs; and Bowdoin Haitian Alliance.

Photo of Dany Laferrière courtesy of Editions Boréal and copyright Pierre Crépô

Adam Ureneck, a 2004 Bowdoin graduate (Environmental Studies & History), has worked in Peru for over nine years, both as a student and organizer for Solidaridad en Marcha, an international organization dedicated to working with the poorest of the poor. Based in his experience in Lima?s shantytowns as well as his development work in Perus High Andes, Adam will specifically address the problem of relying entirely on technical solutions to the many challenges that face a complex cultural and social reality such as the one found in Perus highland region. Join us for this brown bag lunch talk in the McKeen Center common room, Banister 102.